Corner construction for metal furniture



J l 16, 1940. H P 2,208,227

CORNER CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL FURNITURE Filed Dec. 24, 1938 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY \igwsmeojz.

\f- ATTORNEYS July 16, 1940. J. H. PAGE.

CORNER CONSTRUCTION FOR METAL FURNITURE Filed Dec. 24, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR O Y/flc% ATTORNEYS Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE CORNER CONSTRUCTION 210a METAL FU NITURE John H. Page, Muskegon, Mich, assignor to. The Shaw-Walker Company,1Muskegon, Mich, a

corporation of Michigan Applicationlllccember 24, 1938, Serial no. 247,629

6' Claims (Cl. 139- -36) I This invention relates to improvements in elements of the corner in partially assembled metal furniture .constructiomand more particurelation.

larly to the constructionof molded and rounded Figure 5 is a perspective view looked at from corners for cabinets, desks, pedestals and. the the inside showing the several elements aslike. sembled to form the corner.

Sheet metal furniture, cabinets. and the like Figure 6 is a perspective view looked at from having rounded corners have heretofore-been the interior, showing the elements ofthe corner constructed by ,thefluse of large and costly dies assembled and secured to the side and bottom which draw and form entire panelsinto a pan panel plates which form the body of the piece of shape having the desired contour. These panels furniture. 10

are then assembled with other curved Or fiat Figure 7 is a perspective view looked at from ieets, by overlapping and welding or by buttthe interior, with the threeangle plates included welding to form the completed cabinet shell. in the corner connected by miter-joints and This method is economical and practical only with the corner piece itself omitted.

when the product has sucha wide use as to per- Figure 8 is a perspective view showing one of 15 mit its manufacture in. great quantities. the angle plates with mitered ends.

By another method such corners have been Figure 91s a perspective view looked at from made constructing angle corners, filling. the the interior of the parts comprising the'corner interior with welding material and then grinding is disassembled relation, with two. of the angle and filing the exterior corners until they assume plates made integral with the bottom panel file the desired, roundnesa This latter method is plate. apt to result in imperfect corners and is too crude Figure 10 is a perspective view showing a modito be used on products requiring fine workmanfled form of the corner construction as it appears shipand appearance. The hand. labor required when looked at from the exterior. also makes forrelatively high production cost. Figures 11 and 12 are, respectively,.inner and The object of the present. invention istov proouter perspective views of the corner piece used vide a rounded corner comprised of fiat, formedv in the modification shown in Figure 10. i and drawn pieces. of sheet metal which, when Referring now to that embodiment of the inspotwelded together by the usual vmethodsv used vention illustrated in the drawings, and particuin sheet metal furniture construction, form. a larly Figures 1 to 6, inclusive: l5, l6 and I! in- 3th molded, rounded corner of pleasing appearance dicate, respectively, sheet. metal panels disposed and possessing great strength and rigidity. at angles, in this case right angles to each other Another object of the invention is to provide. and forming upright adjacent side, end and bota corner of the kind comprised of partswhich tom Walls of a piece of furniture, as a desk. A may be made without the use of expensive drawindicates a vertical angle plate to which the 3d ing dies and which may be assembled andsecured vertical panels 55 and I6. are secured; B inditogether at a minimum of cost. cates a horizontal angle plate to which the The advantages of the invention will. appear vertical panel l5 and the horizontal bottom panel more fully as I proceed. with. my specification. I? are secured; and'C indicates a horizontal 40 In the drawings: angle plate to which the vertical panel 16 and the 49 Figure l is a perspective view of an end of a horizontal panel i'l are secured,the three angle piece of furniture, as for example, a ,desk proplates being each disposed at angles to the other, vided at the bottom with av corner construction like to those between the said panels, in this case embodying the invention. right angles. Each of said angle plates A, Band Figure 2 is a perspective. viewon an enlarged C is made'from a flat strip of metal and is formed 45 scale showing the improvedcorner constructionat the angle with a longitudinally extending, as looked at from below and forward. of the bot preferably rounded bead-at, b and c, respectivetomcorner of the desk in which is it embodied. 1y. Said. bead is upset from the angle plate to Figure 3 is a view in perspective showing in present lateral shoulders D, D rising from the 50 disassembled relation the several elements which, adjacent faces of the angle plate. 5d 1 when secured together, form the improved v.cor- The angle plates A, B and C are so formed ner construction as looked at from the interior of and cut that when brought together at the prethe corner. determined angles, the lateral vertical edges I 8,

Figure l is a. perspective view looked at. from I801 the angle plate A will abut the vertical end' the outside offlthe,corners-showingthe.several edg.esl,la,..;2c.ofhthelangle. plates B and C,- re-5a spectively; and the mitered edges 2!, 22 of the bottom flanges of the angle plates B and C will abut each other,the parts being so cut and relatively disposed as to leave an opening at the junction of the three angle plates. This gap or opening is closed by a corner piece E, which is drawn from sheet metal into trihedral form, with its faces disposed as shown at right angles to each other, and of such size that its faces overlap the marginal proximate ends of the angle plates as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5. It is made at the angles and at the apex of said angles to conform to and merge into the beads a, b and c of the angle plates, being rounded in this case as are said beads. It has transverse ends 23, 23, 23 at the angles between its faces, which ends are formed to abut the proximate ends of the heads a, b, c of the angle plates when in assembled relation with the angle plates A, B and C. And the non-abutting ends IB 2|", 22 of the flanges of the angle plates overlapped by said corner piece are formed in arcs to follow closely the arcs between the vertical and horizontal branches of the rounded edges of said corner piece, in such manner as to continue and merge the beads of said vertical and horizontal angle plates, as shown in Figure 2.

The above described assembly is clearly shown in Figure 3, where the corner piece E appears assembled with the angle plate B; in Figure 4 where it appears in process of assembly with the angle plates A and B; and in Figure 5 where it appears in complete assembled relation with the angle plates A, B and C.

From an observation of Figure 2 it will be seen that the beads a, b and c of the angle plates flow into and merge with the rounded edges at the angles of the corner piece E, and that the rounding of said piece E at the point where said beads a, b and 0 would intersect if continued, produces a rounding finished flow of metal in all directions, with the edges I8 HP and 22 of theangle plates continuing and merging with the heads a, b and c. This produces a finished and slightly construction when the four pieces are welded together in such assembled relation.

The upright panels it, IS and the bottom panel ll are welded to the flanges of the several angle plates A, B and C, preferably to their inner faces, and are cut away at 15 16 ll short of the corner piece E, as shown in Figure 6.

In the construction shown in Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, the abutting end edges of the bottom flanges of the angle plates B and C are shown formed to make a miter-joint. In the modification shown in Figure '7. the abutting edges [8, W of the angle plate A and the associated edges 9a, Zll of the angle plates B and C are likewise formed to make miter-joints in each case.

The panels as heretofore described are each separate pieces of sheet metal, which are rigidly secured to the angle plates by Weldingor otherwise, as hereinbefore described. But without seriously complicating or increasing the expense of forming and drawing, a panel may be made integral with two angle plates, or one angle plate may be made integral with two panels. An example of the first mentioned is shown with the parts in expanded relation in Figure 9. Here A 3 and C indicate the angle plates, and E indicates the corner piece. ll indicates the bottom panel, which is integral with the bottom flanges of the bottom angle plates B C Here the bottom plate [1* has a curved edge H which takes theplace of and. performs the bead-continuing function of the edges 2P, 22 of the bottom flanges of the angle plates B and C, as shown in Figure 3.

Obviously the form or the offset of the bead provided at the angle of the angle plates or of the corner pieces to correspond therewith, may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. In Figures 10, 11 and 12 is illustrated a bead which is offset at its edges at a greater distance than the thickness of the sheet metal from which the angle plates are formed or drawn. I5 I6 ll indicate the panels; A B C indicate the angle plates; E indicates the corner piece. a b o indicate the respective beads at the angles of the angle plates. In this case, however, the beads are offset at their lateral edges D at a greater distance from the faces of the angle plates, the inner faces as shown, than the thickness of the metal of which the angle plates are made.

- The corner piece E is formed to provide bosses or shoulders 6 which project from its main surface and are formed to follow the rounded edges I8 IB and 2 l 22 of the angle plates A B and C to form a continuous flush surface of the molded portion around the corner, as shown in Figure 10.

While in describing my invention I have re: ferred to several details of construction and arrangement of parts, it will be obvious that they d are capable of some modifications and changes without departing from the spirit of the invention which is not limited thereto except as may bepointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sheet metal corner construction connecting three panels disposed at an angle to each other, comprising three angle plates each common to two adjacent panels, each angle plate being formed at the angle with a bead having upset lateral edges and an end edge terminating short of said corner, said angle plates being formed at their proximate ends with complementary abutting edges, leaving an opening about the corner, and a trihedral corner piece closing said opening, said corner piece being formed at its angles in approximate conformity to said beads and having edges which abut the end edges of said beads, and said angle plates overlapping said corner piece and being formed in arcs to follow the arcs between the vertical and horizontal branches of the rounded edges of said corner piece.

2. A sheet metal corner construction connecting three panels disposed at right angles to each other, comprising three angle plates each common to and secured to the outer faces of two adjacent panels, each angle plate being formed at the angle with a bead having lateral edges upset from the inner faces of said angle plates and an end edge terminating short of the apex of said corner, said angle plates being formed at their proximate ends with complementary abutting edges, leaving an opening about the corner, and a trihedral corner piece closing said opening and overlapping the proximate end margins of said angle plates, said corner piece being formed at its angles in approximate conformity to said beads andhaving edges which abut the end edges of said beads.

3. A sheet metal corner construction connecting three panels disposed at right angles to each other, comprising three angle plates each common to and secured to the outer faces of two adjacentpanels, each angleplate being formed at the angle with a bead having lateral edges upset from the inner faces of said angle plates and an end edge terminating short of the apex of said corner, said angle plates being formed at their proximate ends with complementary abutting edges, leaving an opening about the corner, and a trihedral corner piece closing said opening and overlapping the proximate end margins of said angle plates, said corner piece being formed at its angles in approximate conformity to said beads and having edges which abut the end edges of said beads, and said angle plates overlapping said corner piece and being formed in arcs to follow the arcs between the vertical and horizontal branches of the rounded edges of said corner piece.

4. A sheet metal corner construction connecting three panels disposed at right angles to each other, comprising three angle plates each common to two adjacent panels, some of said angle plates and panels being integral with each other, each angle plate being formed at the angle with a bead having upset lateral edges and an end edge in arcs to follow the arcs between the vertical and horizontal branches of the rounded edges of said corner piece.

5. A sheet metal corner construction comprising three angle plates, each angle plate being formed at the angle with a bead having upset lateral edges and an end edge terminating short of said corner, said angle plates being formed at their proximate ends with complementary abutting edges, leaving an opening about the corner, and a trihedral corner piece closing said opening, said corner piece being formed at its angles in approximate conformity to said beads and having edges which abut the end edges of said beads, and said angle plates overlapping said corner piece and being formed in arcs to follow the arcs between the vertical and horizontal branches of the rounded edges of said corner piece.

6. A sheet metal corner construction comprising three angle plates, each angle plate being formed at the angle with a bead having lateral edges upset from the inner faces of said angle plates, and an end edge terminating short of the apex of said corner, said angle plates being formed at their proximate ends with complementary abutting edges, leaving an opening about the corner, and a trihedral corner piece closing said opening and overlapping the proximate end margins of said angle plates, said cor- I JOHN H. PAGE. 

